May 19, 1899.] 



SCIENCE. 



721 



sides are of tbiu wood, similarly hinged to the 

 back, but on the outride the back and the 

 hinges are covered with roan. Attached to the 

 inner side of the tail eud of the back is a loop 

 of tape or roan, by which the bos can be pulled 

 out from the shelf. The outside measurements 

 of the size adopted in my library for ordinary 

 pamphlets are, height, IIJ inches; depth, 9 

 inches ; thickness, 3:j- inches. The thickness of 

 the material is from J- to J inch according to its 

 position. 



The merits of this type of case are extreme 

 simplicity, readiness of access to pamphlets, 

 freedom from dog-earing the corners or folding 

 the wrappers as pamphlets are taken in and out. 

 To refer to a pamphlet one simply places the 

 back of the case on the table, lets fall the two 

 sides on to the table and turns over the pamph- 

 lets until the desired one is found. Without 



Fig. 1. The pamphlet-case open and seen from the 

 inside. 



removing the pamphlet one can turn over the 

 pages, note the passage required and then with- 

 out further ado close the sides of the pamphlet- 

 box just as one would close a bound book, and 

 replace it on the shelf. The cases are light, 

 dust-proof and duraMe ; and the lighter ones 

 cost me 2s. 9d. (66 cents) apiece when ordered 

 by the half gross. 



As for arrangement, each worker will follow 

 the method that suits him best. I sort the 

 pamphlets first into subjects, and within each 

 subject arrange them alphabetically under au- 

 thors' names ; those of each author are placed 

 chronologically. Any number of boxes may go 

 to one subject. Each is labelled on the back 



with a white paper label on which the subject is 

 stencilled in black, while the letters contained 

 in that particular box are marked in broad soft 

 pencil, easily changed as required (see Fig. 2). 



Fig. 2. The pamphlet-case closed as it stands on the 

 shelf. 



In this way the boxes devoted to Crinoidea 

 have grown from 1 to 14 and the position of no 

 pamphlet has ever been in doubt. 



Of course a card-catalogue is a necessary ad- 

 junct to a collection of any size, as it enables 

 one to assign a doubtful pamphlet to any sub- 

 ject, and to find it again by a symbol pencilled 

 on the catalogue slip. 



It may be paternal prejudice, but I certainly 

 consider this form of case simpler and more 

 effective than any I have seen or read about. I 

 do not say that it is cheaper. 



r. A. Bather. 



TBE MABINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY Al 



WOOD'S BOLL. 



' THE ANNUAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE 



MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY.'* 



The Twelfth Session of the Marine Biological 

 Laboratory will begin on June 1st, and will con- 

 tinue for four months. This session promises 

 to be the most successful in the history of the 

 Laboratory. While the courses of instruction 

 heretofore offered will be maintained by an ex- 

 ceptionally strong staff, three entirely new 

 courses have been added, these courses in 



* Copies of the Announcement may he had on ap- 

 plication to the Director, Professor CO. Whitman, 

 University of Chicago, or to the Assistant Director, 

 Professor Ulric Dahlgren, Princeton University. 



